The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-03-28

his mother sing | have sat and lis
tened to his Barbara Allen" as the
echoes ran riot among the caves and
junsles, till the big owl returned the
challenge with a knocking OF insane
laughter.
The old song comes back to me with
quaint rythm as | write.
"Hc sent his servant to the town
Where Barb'ry was adwellin
Sayin' you must 90 to me own master
FL your name DO Barb'ry Allen"
Then there was another staza that
was very affecting indeed:
"And rs she walked down the street,
The bells they wer' atollin',
And every toll thoy seemed to say,
Hard heart ed Bqrb'ry Allen"
know the old song would not at
tune well to u parlor organ, and |
doubt if you could play it on grand
piano. But there was a pathos OF the
thing that stirred my youthful soul to
its depths.
Blue.eyed spring began to grow
plump. and finally developed into the
maturer charms OF summer. Sum
mer, with the droue OF the humble bee
at noon, and lazy Lawrence dancing
on the worm fences. Summer time
sweet summer time The peaches
ripened and Redeemed and the corn
silks began TO appear. Doc said ii the
first silk you saw was red one you
would be healthy and lucky the bal
ance of the year. The first one he saw
that summer was n red one.
And, oh, the signs and sayings
he taught us. He told us that If we
saw the moon in u clear sky it was
lucky. He told us ii we killed
a toad our best COW would die. He
| told us that the knots in Old Beauty's
name, when we went to iced her OF II
morning-Old Beauty was our horse
were caused by The witches who
rode her the night before, and used
these knots for stirrups. Then he
said when old Dominicker, my favor
lite hen, took a spell of growing that
"Whis'lin' women an CROWN hens
| is apt to come to some bad end"
Sure enough, a blue darter hawk
killed old Dominicker the very next
! Sunday.
Doc began to be stout and strong
now. He looked on the faded jacket
and little breeches he wore when he
first came to our house in q sort OF
remniscently pitying way, for his
arms had grown more muscular, and
his short legs had grown stouter, and
Doc began to be right good-looking
| boy, alter all.
Autumn came with her sad eyes and
| sobbing winds. Autumn had a deeper
| significance than ever before, fer there
were portentious tidings waited from
affair on every breeze that wandered
through the heavens. A big white
comet blazed in the sky, and Doc said
that meant war. Dock was respect
able looking lad indeed, now. lie was
fifteen years DID, but few would have
believed 1t. His eyes still had that
faraway expression in them. lie was
older than his years.
That was n winter long 70 be re-
membered. Grey uniforms were seen at
the last yearly meeting, held in Nov
ember, and the preachers at that
meeting spoke words that sounded
harshly in our untutored ears.
Young women hummed wariike airs,
| anu NcIc cubcl w CuINh NlAS i'NN''' ~
train.
remember how the crimson deep.
ened on Cousin Sues brown cheek
when she ratified Off
"Huzza Huzzal for the bonnie blue flag SO
dear,
Huzza! for the sword and plume that
southern soldiers wear!"
At the first frolc the fiddler wore a
red feather in his hat and played
Dixie"
Men talked and women sang, and
| the warm blood ran riot in the south
ern veins. "0n to war;" ooh, John
nile, aire you boun' to be SOLDIER"
Your waist, it is too slender,
Your hands they arc 20 small,
And your cheeks too red and rosy,
To face n cannon ball
And sing oh-and sing oh.
Sure you will, my deaiH'
One wintry night the northern sky
burst into a deep crimson, and we
knew that the supernatural flame oil
aurora borealis was burning on the
brow Of heaven. Doc said that was
the sign OF war. Everything was the
sign of war. We had noticed the ON
nous "W" on the back OF the locusts
in the early autumn. Captain Jack
Rainey had muster every week, and
the tramp, tramp, tramp otgatherine
squadrons shattered the slumberous
depths of the barrens.
knew that the Doc had met Lucy
Paxton at the frolic, and knew that
he had followed her every movement
with a fascinated gaze. She was not
GROWN nm but abe was .'most grown"